Diksmuide to Oudenburg

36 km, 6 lift bridges, 1 lock, 5 hours

At last, the day to start cruising has arrived.  First thing Ian went off to Delva (a hardware store) to buy some last minute necessities while I made breakfast, then I did a quick dash to the supermarket -  for some last minute necessities.  Ian stored the bike on board, unhooked us from the electricity, we untied the mooring lines and off we went.

It was a truly glorious day, bright sunshine, the lightest of breezes and the chilly early morning (4C) had warmed up to 10C by the time we left at 10.30. 

What a beautiful day

Our first lift bridge - Tervatebrug 

Our favourite house

Bird life

Two hours later we stopped briefly at the WWV Westhoek marina in Nieuwpoort so Ian could go to the nearby Sint Joris lock to buy a cruising permit for 2017 (€75) and I made lunch.  

The Sint Joris lock leads into the Nieuwpoort-Plassendale Canal which has 5 lift bridges and boats are required to group together in convoys which form at the first bridge at specific times but the lock keeper told Ian that when there is very little movement on the canal they usually let the boats go through at any time.

So, after going through the lock, 

I called Plassendale Centrale and asked when we could pass through the first bridge. “Oh, ja” came the reply, “I’ll make it ready now”.  Before 13.30 we were through the first bridge.

The five lift bridges on the Nieuwpoort-Plassendale Canal:

Rattevallebrug

Slijpebrug

Leffingerbrug

Gistelbrug

Zandvoordebrug

And a few other sights along the way:

My favourite cow statue - on a roof

This roof doesn't look too healthy

Lucky kids

Love these tiny canalside cottages

By 16.00 we were tied up at the pontoon in Oudenburg which is free and also has free electricity and water. 

By this time the temp had risen to 21C, we had long since peeled off a good few layers of clothing, and opened all the opening windows and hatches.  But with the clear skies, as evening approaches it is getting cooler and I think we might just get the electric heater out tonight.

Dramatic sunset

Chicken on the Barbie tonight!

Ian tending the bbq and a glass of wine